Talking Points: Boston Bruins Bounce Back With 3-1 Win Over Penguins

The Boston Bruins snapped out of their funk and gained two huge points in the East Division standings with an impressive 3-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins Tuesday night in Pittsburgh.

David Krejci had a goal and an assist and Tuukka Rask fell just short of his second shutout in a week, stopping 25 of 26 Penguins’ shots. Taylor Hall and Brad Marchand also lit the lamp for the Bruins in the win.

Jeff Carter had the lone goal for the Penguins and goalie Tristan Jarry made 28 saves for the Pens.

With the New York Islanders falling 1-0 to the Washington Capitals Tuesday night, the Bruins (28-14-6, 62 pts) now trail the Islanders (29-15-5, 63 pts) by a point for the third playoff spot in the East Division.

GOLD STAR: Tuukka Rask. Prior to Rask returning to the Boston Bruins lineup on April 15 after not playing since March 25, Bruins winger said he was looking forward to the calming presence and confidence Rask provides when he’s between the pipes. Well, that calm was needed in various intervals throughout the game Tuesday night. The Penguins can cause chaos when they start buzzing and when that happened Tuesday, Rask repeatedly the calming presence the Bruins needed to compose themselves and regroup. He made a huge save on Penguins forward Zach Aston-Reese with two minutes left in the first, was huge on the three Penguins’ powerplays that the Bruins had to kill and then held strong when the Pens tried to tilt the game back in their favor.

Tuukka Rask with another great stop – this time on Zach Aston-Reese. pic.twitter.com/fIvZOTZMY0

— Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) April 27, 2021

BLACK EYE: Whining about the refs. As is always the case with any fanbase, plenty of Boston Bruins fans on social media expressed their disapproval of what they felt was an unfair difference in powerplays for the Penguins versus the Bruins. Brad Marchand did the same on the Penguins TV broadcast in the second intermission. While they had a case on the Mike Reilly holding the stick infraction 1:32 into regulation, you can’t fault the officiating for a too-many-men-on-the-ice call and Kevan Miller was definitely guilty of the slashing call he took 5:13 into the middle frame. If the fans and the Bruins want the penalties to sway in their favor, then maybe the Bruins need to earn more powerplays by moving their feet and tiring out their opponent instead of blaming the Zebras.

TURNING POINT: Taylor Hall’s goal at 12:18 of the third period. The Boston Bruins seemed to be pulling away and wearing down the Penguins after Brad Marchand made it 2-0 Bruins at 9:11 of the final frame but Hall’s goal helped them take that final stride to the finish line. After taking a beautiful feed from Krejci, Hall cut into the slot with some nifty stick-handling and just rifled one top shelf on Jarry. That seemed to crush the collective spirit of the Penguins.

Taylor Hall appears to be fitting in well in Boston… pic.twitter.com/afWEFGM9Nx

— Brady Trettenero (@BradyTrett) April 28, 2021

HONORABLE MENTION: David Krejci. No one is arguing that the addition of Hall has reinvigorated Kerjci’s game down the stretch here. With his goal and an assist on Tuesday, Krejci now has five goals and four assists since Boston Bruins General Manager Don Sweeney won the 2021 NHL Trade Deadline. However, while having a dynamic winger and scorer at his disposal has helped Krejci, he himself has taken his game to the next level and once again proven that he’s one of the most ‘underappreciated’ Bruins and NHLers.

*Stick tap to Charlie McAvoy for his almost end-to-end rush that led to the Krejci goal.

Maybe David Krejci didn't need any wingers after all pic.twitter.com/gyfWhCumrS

— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) April 28, 2021

BY THE NUMBERS: 8. As in plus 8 for Taylor Hall since he became a Boston Bruin.

QUOTE TO NOTE: “A lot to like from everybody tonight. Our top guys did the scoring. Our bottom guys did a lot of the grunt work….good formula for us.” – Boston Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy on everyone chipping in for the win.